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Law360 (April 3, 2020, 4:28 PM EDT) -- Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Anna G. Eshoo, D-Calif., sent a letter Thursday urging the Federal Communications Commission to "vigorously enforce" an upcoming law that prohibits cable and satellite TV providers from hiding fees from consumers.
In a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, the lawmakers urged the commission to enforce the pro-consumer provisions in the Television Viewer Protection Act, which was set to go into effect this June.
But also on Thursday, the FCC's Media Bureau said it would exercise its discretion in light of the COVID-19 pandemic to give TV providers flexibility to fulfill their obligations under the TVPA and pushed the law's effective date to Dec. 20.
In an order, the Media Bureau said TV and internet providers are integral to keeping the public informed and connected during the coronavirus crisis and that the providers need to be able to focus their resources on that effort.
ACA Connects, the trade group for smaller cable systems, applauded the Media Bureau's decision, saying in a news release that its members would have been "hard-pressed" to get necessary software upgrades from their billing vendors to meet the original June deadline, even without the COVID-19 crisis.
"This action will enable ACA Connects members to immediately redirect all necessary resources to keeping their customers online, their networks running, and their employees and others safe during this unprecedented crisis," the association said in a statement.
In their letter, Markey and Eshoo asked the FCC for assurances that it fully intends to enforce the law once it goes into effect.
The TVPA addresses the transparency and fairness issues of certain billing practices in the pay-TV market, the lawmakers said, and will require providers to disclose all fees before customers sign up for a service, allow service cancellations within 24 hours without penalty and charge customers only for the equipment they use.
"Consumers deserve price transparency, a right to change their mind without exorbitant penalties, and the knowledge that they will only be charged for services and equipment they actually use," Markey and Eshoo wrote. "Federal law now provides these assurances, and we appreciate the commission executing the will of the U.S. Congress to promote this critical consumer protection statute."
Citing a Consumer Reports study of fees that are tacked onto TV bills, the lawmakers said customers are paying on average an extra $450 a year in company-imposed fees. The lawmakers said customers are often not given the full picture of what their bill will look like and have no right to cancel once they get the bill.
The TVPA was inspired by the Truth-in-Billing, Remedies, and User Empowerment over Fees (TRUE Fees) Act that was co-authored by Markey and Eshoo last year. The law, which was introduced in February 2019 but hasn't yet passed Congress, is the basis for the consumer protection provisions that were subsequently enacted in the TVPA, the lawmakers said.
A representative for Markey declined to comment beyond the letter Thursday and a representative for Eshoo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
--Editing by Kelly Duncan.
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